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The BLUE DEMON...

odd_ball

odd_ball

Right, thought it about time to start a blog. I've owned the car for just over a year now, great little motor. Until recently I've only made plans of what I want to do to her, but finally started actually doing it last week...

So here she is, Vera, the Blue Demon. Tidy enough, one old lady owner before me (as with most Micras it would seem) 38K on the clock and a service history when I got her, along with the usual old lady bumps and scrapes. Just hit 47K so not doing too badly for me first year!...

This was only taken last week, but is the same as how she looked when I got her, minus her lovely hub caps, and they were lovely mind! But hub caps are free creatures and shouldn't be forced to live on wheels, they should be free to live in their natural habitat... In the gutter on the side of the road or up a random tree or lamp post... as are mine!

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Got to do something about that stance... She stands like a barn!

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So the to do list:

  • Paint headlights/upgrade bulbs,
  • Clear side repeaters,
  • Paint/modify grille,
  • De-bump strip the sides,
  • Colour code bumper bump strips,
  • Lower 30-40mm,
  • Rear spoiler,
  • Retro steel wheels,
  • Fog lights,
  • Metal license plates and frames,
  • Lay flat rear wiper,
  • Fit an after market tacho,
  • Short shifter,
  • Air box and possible cold air intake,
  • Sort out an infinity of marks/scrapes and dents...
Prob loads more too but that should keep me busy for now!?...
 
So a quick update... Started on tidying her up last week. Plan was to do a few cosmetic bits ready for when I took her home to Liverpool for the weekend, but she became poorly with a possible caliper/bearing issue so she's laid up at the minute...
Anyway, the progress so far:
Painted tatty old steel wheels as I was sick of looking at them all rusted while I'm working on the retro ones that will replace them...
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Also painted rear hubs, well one anyway, as rain stopped play...
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Here's how she looks now, with her new shoes, painted headlights, clear side repeaters...
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The head/side lights have got new 60% brighter white bulbs in them. Did take pictures of these versus old bulbs but they didn't turn out very clearly as I was using my phone... Front and side repeaters have got chrome bulbs in that glow orange. Also notice my subtle sticker, possibly the first of many? Also my Chrome Gorilla Lug/Lock nuts... bought for my new wheels but couldn't put the old ones back on me fresh painted wheels... They look ace and are supposed to be the best on the market, a lot of vintage car owners use them I believe? Had to get them from the states though, as can't buy them over here, but worked out cheaper than a set of lock nuts and a set of nuts from Halfrauds, and only took I think 8 days to arrive... unbelievable!
Did have a problem with one headlight fogging, which is sorted now, you can make it out in this picture:
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So next on the agenda is to get my retro wheels painted up and fitted. Fit a tacho, which I have bought but they sent the wrong colour. Paint grilles, de-bump the sides... and paint and fit my lovely new spoiler, bought from Lee on here, who is a sound fella it has to be said!

So the to do list (as it stands):
  • Paint headlights/upgrade bulbs,
  • Clear side repeaters,
  • Paint/modify grille,
  • De-bump strip the sides,
  • Colour code bumper bump strips,
  • Lower 30-40mm,
  • Rear spoiler (work in progress),
  • Retro steel wheels (work in progress),
  • Fog lights,
  • Metal license plates and frames,
  • Lay flat rear wiper,
  • Fit an after market tacho (work in progress),
  • Short shifter,
  • Air box and possible cold air intake,
  • Sort out an infinity of marks/scrapes and dents...
Getting there slowly... I'll get some more pictures up soon! Let me know what you think so far...
 
Aftermarket Tacho? Why aren't you gonna go OEM and get a standard cluster that has a revv counter?

looks good, those wheels have made a good difference.
 
Cheers Lee! After a year of making plans & doing nothing I'm hoping to make quick progress!

johnbr6 said:
Aftermarket Tacho? Why aren't you gonna go OEM and get a standard cluster that has a revv counter?

looks good, those wheels have made a good difference.
Click to expand...

Yeah, did originally try to go down the OEM cluster route, but couldn't really find any & then theres the whole thing of the mileage being out & gettin it adjusted etc... I know it's a small thing & wouldn't bother mist people but it'd bother me!

Thanks for the comments in the wheels, they seem to be going down well!? They've made a huge difference I think, but also emphasized the need for some droppage!?
 
SuluR said:
stunning! love the colour
Click to expand...

Cheers, glad you like it! I do & I don't... Can look really lovely at times, was originally looking for a silver one but saw this & fell in love. Of coarse once the wax & polish had worn off all the scrapes & scratches became apparent & it just winds me up! Would be a lot happier if it was perfect... Or just didn't have all the dents in the roof, think it uses to get parked under a tree?

I love the metallic apple green face lifts... Want one so bad! Have considered selling this for one, or even spraying it... I guess I could always have 2 Micras though? :)
 
Oh yeah, got those Aero - VU flat wipers on as well. They're all one piece, rather than the usual link and pivot construction and I have to say I'm impresed with them so far!... The Boosch ones I previously bought for like £20 for just the fronts were rubbish after about 3 weeks, these were £7 for a full set front and back and are much better... at that price I don't care if I only get a few months out of them! I'd recommend them anyway!...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/230476314156?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649
 
odd_ball said:
Oh yeah, got those Aero - VU flat wipers on as well. They're all one piece, rather than the usual link and pivot construction and I have to say I'm impresed with them so far!... The Boosch ones I previously bought for like £20 for just the fronts were rubbish after about 3 weeks, these were £7 for a full set front and back and are much better... at that price I don't care if I only get a few months out of them! I'd recommend them anyway!...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/230476314156?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649
Click to expand...

Have these exact ones!, theyre ace
 
odd_ball said:
Yeah, brilliant wipers... You have any issues fitting the rear one? Or are you not sportng a rear wiper arm?
Click to expand...

Im affraid i have removed the rear wiper, been toying with the idea of putting it back but would like one that stays flat on its own. On my old one i cut the wire that positioned it up so i can place it where i want.
 
Looks nice :) it's a lovely colour, and I must say the wheels look rather good too
I have a horizontal rear wiper from a facelift if you're interested? and also may be selling my 35mm springs soon too :p
 
SK193 said:
Looks nice :) it's a lovely colour, and I must say the wheels look rather good too
I have a horizontal rear wiper from a facelift if you're interested? and also may be selling my 35mm springs soon too :p
Click to expand...
Cheers for the comment! I have sort of acquired a horizontal rear wiper already thanks, but may be interested in the springs? How much would you want, how old are they and what make?
 
odd_ball said:
Cheers for the comment! I have sort of acquired a horizontal rear wiper already thanks, but may be interested in the springs? How much would you want, how old are they and what make?
Click to expand...
I'm not too sure yet, i'll be selling them when I buy new/lower ones. They've been on my car for about a year/3000 miles and they're P.I 35mm springs :p
 
What ever you do... Keep them wheels! I really like them!

Slam it and tuck them up in the arches :)
 
Rally_Rob said:
What ever you do... Keep them wheels! I really like them!

Slam it and tuck them up in the arches :)
Click to expand...

Cheers man! They were initially just a quick temporary tidy up job but yeah, I like them too. Have got another set of wheels going on her, then I'll prob give these a proper strip & paint them properly... But yeah, maybe they'll end up going back on?

They make a huge difference to the look of the car on their own, compared to the rusted mess they were!

Dropping her hopefully in the next month or two... Only 30-40mm though, just to close those arch gaps up.. Thats low enough for me... :)
 
SK193 said:
I'm not too sure yet, i'll be selling them when I buy new/lower ones. They've been on my car for about a year/3000 miles and they're P.I 35mm springs :p
Click to expand...

Sound, I'll see what the situation is when you sell... Whats the ride like on them & are you running an adjustable panhard rod or standard at the mo?
 
odd_ball said:
Sound, I'll see what the situation is when you sell... Whats the ride like on them & are you running an adjustable panhard rod or standard at the mo?
Click to expand...
Okay, that's fine. They give a good ride, not too hard but definitely make a difference to the handling :) Yeah i'm using a Whiteline adjustable panhard rod but you don't really need one for a 30-40mm drop, but I bought one anyway as I knew i'd be going lower at some point
 
Right, about time we had some bloody updates I think!? Lack of sleep, weather and net access has prevented much being done, but have done a few small bits so...

WHEELS:
The wheels how they looked when I got them, which seems many moons ago now... Rostyle... Came off a Vauxhall Chevette...
KGrHqJpE8VlcdTvpBPNtUCKvw60_1.jpg


Some progress shots through stripping them, which was with Nitromors, paint removal wheel and wire wool...

So after Nitromors and scraper:
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And after the paint removal wheel... Picture not very good but they cames up shinies!...
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And heres the paint removal wheel, I got this after seeing it on Hoopdubs blog... very highly recommended! I went through 3 of them due to the awkward shape of the wheels but 1 would do a normal set of wheels... Anyhoo, with alot of work with wire wool I got them pretty clean lookiing, but still had alot of areas I couldn't get to and the backs were caked in 40 years worth of rust and brake dust so in the garage they stayed. That is until Hoop pointed me in the direction of somebody who would blast them for me... A headstone mason!
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So here they are after blasting (before blast showing surface rust due to being in my garage so long):
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Much better! Now for the trail fit...
FRONT:
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Still not sure if these are gonna work without spacers or something... concerned about there being no seating in centre of the wheel...
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REARS:
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And some chrome embellishment... Just for fun...
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And here's how they sit now, all primed awaiting rub down and final paint... Kinda lost interest in them though, 2 are quite badly kerbed, 2 are alright... It's gonna bother me if I paint them... I know I've got the embellishers but wasn't planning on using them as they scratch the wheels so once they're on, they're on... Plus some scrote might nick them!... Just weighting up whether to have the centre's cut out and welded into new rims? Maybe with a bit of a deeper dish? We'll see...

DSC_1313.jpg
 
Other progress includes my grilles... Still got alot of things I wanna try out on these but happyso far! Did them all blue first, slightly different then the car as couldn't get mine in rattle can, but not too much difference. Wasn't fussed on em so carried on with original plan and blacked them up with some gloss...
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I think they look alot better black now... Since I blacked the lights the chrome grilles have been annoying me, feel this ties the whole front together now... Looks like shes got a bit of aggression now!

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I also highly endorse this product! Much better than masking tape and better for forming and following curves etc... and no bleeding! Well worth the money!
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A random one but here's the Demon photographed from the top of the Anglican Cathedral in Liverpool... Bloody typical though int it, look at all that space I could've parked and I manage to obsure the view with a bloody lamp post!
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Got me a new radio too, as the standard on was broken and to operate any buttons you had to stick your fingers in the tape deck and pull the unit back and forth until some sort of connection was made... Not ideal when you're doing 70 down a duel carriage way...
DSC_1321.jpg


Have to sort some kind of surround out for it as theres quite a gap around it... On the way home from Liverpool at the weekend, middle of the night, pouring rain, driving down pitch black country lanes my missus puts a CD in then... Why won't it play? She says she put it in but now it won't eject and shes not sure she put it in the right way anymore... "It just grabbed it off me" she says... I was FUMING! Some investigation the next day shows she actually slip the CD in the gap between the unit and the dash! Took it off you did it, aye?.... Div!...

DSC_1323.jpg


Also got my tacho wired in. No pictures as yet as its a bit tatty and needs tidying up and the position tweeking...

Reet, I'm off to work, few more updates later on...
 
R-REG-SR said:
see with the lampost you could of lean over a few feet :)
has your sterio got a cage ? nice progress!
Click to expand...

Not possible, the top of the cathedral is like solid 7ft sand stone walls with narrow gothic arches in, through which I took the picture so can't lean out... can bearly get your hand through! Have to park somewhere better in future! :) It's really suprising though, it doesn't look that high up in that pic...
cathedral.jpg

I think I'll start a trend now... Micras from a distance... a thread for people to put cool pics of their Micras shot from a distance up... Keep a look out in the General Discussion section...

Random pop fact... The very same tower features very briefly in the video for There She Goes by the La's!... ta da!

Oh, and yeah, the radio did comewith a cage but didn't use it as was useless, just used the brackets off the factory unit and screwed them onto the new one, fitted no problem...
 
They're +37 offset iirc... Dish isn't that deep on them, not much more than a standard steelie really... Like I said, considering cutting the centre's out and having them re-banded?
 
Those wheels would flip quite easily oddball, 4 stitch welds on the back just like k11 ones eh, and you can rework the damaged lip very easily
 
Right, so few more things to report... Bought a toffee wheel to do the de-bump stripping but that hasn't happened yet due to general poo-ness of the weather. I got the new vented type, actually suprised by how big it is... and it smells fit!

Had some issues that were bugging me with the car. The front wheels were heating up when travelling anything over 30mph hich Iwas worried was the calipers or bearings. She was clicking on the left side which was obviously CV joint and there was a terrible racket which I was worried was related to the bearing problem... Was originally gonna have a go at sorting it myself but as the list got longer and a journey to Liverpool got closer I bit the bullet and took it the garage... expecting a hefty bill.

For once I am happy to say I was wrong! They checked the bearings... no problems. Took the brakes apart and gave them a clean... no problems. Greased both CV joints... no problems. All for a price of £45 which wasn't bad considering I'd prepared myself for £300+

Only problem being they managed to cross thread one of my Gorilla lugs, then couldn't get it all the way off so had to cut the wheel stud. Still enough length on it to hold a standard nut, and I've got spare lugs so not too annoyed. It just looks crap at minute but safe to drive. I'll leave it like that till I change the wheels as I'll have to get the tyre's put back on them & the tyre shop is next to the garage.
DSC_1319.jpg


Just need to track down a wheel stud now. I'm guessing it'll be a scrappy job unless anyone has one going spare? My motor factor say it'll be a dealer jobby as they only sell the whole hub for a whopping £90! :eek: FUP that!

So I was quite happy until during my visit, ferrying granny about to the shops I noticed the car was making a horrible noise again & thought they hadn't bothered looking at the bearing at all. Then on closer listening it was a rattle which sounded like heat sheilds (I haven't got any left?) or exhaust... fearing the worst I had a look underneath and found it was this horrible little bit crap making the noise:
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Which was round the zorst here just forward of the hanger and had snapped making it vibrate:
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Not needed and removed. If I'm wrong then a jubilee clip can replace it...

So all good with the Demon now, and happy to report that the treck up to Liverpool and back, blasting up all the country lanes and duel carriage ways seems to have cleared her throat out and she is back to her former, nippy, responsive self now so made up! I've got a spoiler in primer which will be painted up by the weekend ready to go on the car in a few weeks hopefully with a lay-flat wiper on too!?
 
frank said:
Those wheels would flip quite easily oddball, 4 stitch welds on the back just like k11 ones eh, and you can rework the damaged lip very easily
Click to expand...

I was thinking flipping might be an option Frank, but the back seem a bit bigger if that makes sense? Like there is no inner curve for the fronts to weld to. I'd love to be able to rework the damaged lips, but it's not only that, theres chuncks out of them too...

Just wondering what would be involved in having them re-banded and what kind of cost it'd be and where I'd find someone? Would I have to source a set of whels for the outer rim to be taken from? Maybe an option would be to have the front lip cut off and a new one welded on... take them from 5.5 to 6 maybe, little bit more dish but not too much? Would I get away with 6s without arch rolling and bearing in mind rear clearance would remain the same?

Just a pain I've aready primed them! Am I likely to have to get them blasted again once they're welded?
 
Damian said:
liking what you have done so far its giving ,me ideas for my car now :)
Click to expand...

Well you're not far from me mate so maybe we could meet up some time and you can ave a look over it?

Believe me it looks better in the pictures and it's all just cosmetic work, no performance mods yet... but then I gather from your other posts that thats what you're going for too?
 
ye that sounds like a good idea. Ill be having money coming in now as ive started the buses so will have money to spend.

But ye thats all i want to do really. unless i can pay the extra to have the mods all legal. Might take a look now as it goes
 
ye that would be good. Be nice to get a range of ideas to look over as the only thing ive done is my sound system and a chrom batman badge on the back
 
Damian said:
ye that would be good. Be nice to get a range of ideas to look over as the only thing ive done is my sound system and a chrom batman badge on the back
Click to expand...

In the mean time get a blog started... get some pictures up and then we can all track the progress...
 
Just ordered a new wheel stud from eBay, just shy of £7 so not bad... Cheers for that Lee...

Did try Demon Tweeks but can never get any sense out of that website... I hate it!...
 

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